


First on the Beat

by Cookies_and_Chaos



Series: Cold Case Season 8 [1]
Category: Cold Case
Genre: Case Fic, Gen, Murder, Period Typical Attitudes, Period-Typical Racism, Period-Typical Sexism, Police Brutality, Police corruption, Racism, Sexism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:46:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23517133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cookies_and_Chaos/pseuds/Cookies_and_Chaos
Summary: Rush and the team reopen a murder from 1976, the first year women police officers in Philadelphia walked patrol. Retired from the force, Officer Helen Roper has had time to look into the death of a witness she always thought was just that bit suspect and she brings what she's found to the team.Fictional Season 8.
Series: Cold Case Season 8 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1692175
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Whole fic content warning of: sexism, racism, violence and police corruption and brutality.
> 
> Years ago I wanted to try and write a continuation after getting to the end of Season 7, life happened and I got busy. After rewatching the whole series again recently, I decided to give it a go. I may take a short time to find my rhythm with the style of Cold Case.

_November 1st 1976_

_Music: David Bowie - Golden Years_

"Three weeks in and I still can't believe it", Tanya Merchant said, her sigh more of wonder than anything else, "I never thought girls like us would be the first of anything for women".

"I believe it well enough", Helen Roper replied and her sigh wasn't one of wonder.

"Oh honey, your father still giving you trouble?", Tanya squeezed her arm.

"My father, grandfather, Richard...", Helen said and she saw the look forming on Tanya's face, "never mind all that though, let's get some coffee before shift starts".

The two women made a beeline for the coffee shop nearest the station where the girl behind the counter had their orders going as soon as they walked through the door. As they waited, Helen turned to say something to Tanya but the words were knocked from her mind when she recognised the young man sat in the corner watching her.

"I know him...", she said, more to herself than anyone else. The young man's face lit up in recognition and he raised his head in a nod of acknowledgment. Helen glanced around, just to make sure it wasn't someone else he was gesturing to.

"Coffee?", Tanya nudged her arm and held out the coffee.

"Huh? Oh, thanks", Helen took the coffee absent mindedly.

"Come on, or we'll be late. Last thing we need is to give the boys a reason to run us down", Tanya said grimly, "There's Joyce, let's catch her up". Helen followed her with a backwards glance at the man, finally placing him from something to do with the assault she and her partner had been called to the first week she'd been on patrol. The young man smiled, obviously seeing the realisation in her eyes and tapped his watch then held two fingers up.

-

"Too much coffee's no good for you", Peter Wakeford, Helen's partner, called after her as she ran over to the coffee shop, "meet you back at the corner on fifteenth by the laundrette?"

Helen waved to reassure him she had heard and hurried into the coffee shop. She had dragged out their shift, forcing them to take a late lunch by distracting Peter, and she had just made it in time for two o'clock. The man was sat there again. Helen smiled tightly at the server and sat down opposite the man.

"Are you following me?", she asked.

"Hello to you too", the man said, putting one arm over the back of the booth, "you gave me your card remember?"

Helen recognised his Irish accent immediately and the rest of their - short - exchange came back to her. He'd been nearby when the woman had been attacked for the contents of her purse and had been the only witness to say more than a few words to her. The only witness, it seemed, who hadn't thrown her card away.

"That wasn't to start following me around and playing silly games", Helen said, keeping her voice low to avoid attracting attention. Truthfully, she couldn't even say why she had come back. Except that the longer she'd gone on thinking about that case, the more she remembered feeling like someone knew more than they were saying. And like most of the crimes they came across, people weren't saying much to begin with.

"That assault", the man said, fidgeting with the edge of the menu. Helen glanced at the movement, one corner of the menu was frayed and worried, the rest almost new.

"What about it?", she asked.

"Weren't just a random mugging", the man said, putting the menu down and lifting his chin, "lot more to it than that".

"And why are we meeting in coffee shops and not discussing this at the station?", Helen asked with a sigh, feeling the purpose of this meeting slip away. The man pursed his lips and looked around the coffee shop; Helen could spot a deliberate time wasting behaviour anywhere.

"Well, nice to catch up", she said, getting up.

"Name's Colum", the man said, stopping her departure with his words and a frantic gesture.

"And?", Helen asked. Colum seemed to deflate in front of her and he waved for her to sit back down. She did, made a show of doing it slowly.

"It's bigger than just one person and it's who that person knows, you know?", Colum said. Helen thought about dismissing him for a second, after all he sounded paranoid, but there was a sadness tinging his voice that gave her pause and she nodded.

"So tell me..."

-

_November 26th 1976_

Late shifts always seemed to drag on for longer than the morning shifts, Helen thought, especially when they were as miserable as this evening. Peter towered at her side as they walked along East Thompson back towards the station having finished up their usual evening route. Peter always moved so he was walking on the side closest to the road whenever they were on patrol. Helen had decided a few weeks earlier that she didn't achieve much on balance by challenging him on it.

As they crossed the entrance to a small residential parking lot, Helen glanced at the barely standing wooden structure that stood over the dumpsters for the apartments. A bundle in front of them caught her eye.

"Hold up", she grabbed Peter's arm and nodded towards the dumpsters, "that rubbish or a person?"

"It's probably just someone sleeping off a heavy night", Peter said and he raised his voice, "Hey, you alright over there?"

When there was no response, Helen took her torch out and entered the parking lot, Peter right at her heels. As Helen got closer, she could see it was a person, maybe a homeless person looking for somewhere to sleep, shielded from the soft drizzle of rain by the dumpsters.

"Everything alright here?", Helen asked, reaching out and shaking the person. No response. She glanced over her shoulder at Peter who frowned and walked around from the other side.

"Need any he...", Peter's voice trailed off as Helen pulled the person's shoulder again and they rolled onto their back.

Helen leapt back, a strangled sound in the back of her throat as she found herself staring down at Colum's lifeless eyes, his face a mess of cuts and bruises. She thought she heard Peter say something about calling it in but she couldn't be sure, as the image in front of her burned it's way into her mind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Current day for Cold Case Season 8 would be approximately 2011, so I'll leave out newer technology and events as much as I remember to.

_Present Day_

Lilly had only just put her coffee down on the desk and taken one arm out of her coat when Stillman leaned out of his office and called her,

"Lilly? A word".

Quickly shedding her coat onto her chair, Lilly raised her eyebrow in question at the rest of the team but found no clues there.

"Whatcha been up to now, eh Lil?", Scotty called as Lilly crossed the room and pushed the door to Stillman's office open. A few weeks ago, hell a few months ago more like, and she would have called something back to Scotty, but she couldn't seem to find the fire to these days.

Lilly shut the door behind her, it seemed like one of those kind of conversations, and followed Stillman's wordless instructions to sit down.

"Everything okay boss?", Lilly asked carefully, trying to find something in Stillman's face to clue her in on why she was here.

"How's Christina?", Stillman asked.

"She's better", Lilly said, still not letting her defenses down. When had she become so distrusting of everyone in the team?

"Glad to hear it. I've got a case coming in, want you and Miller to handle it", Stillman said, patting the case box beside him. The sudden change of track made Lilly paused to gather her thoughts.

"And the others?", Lilly asked. Things hadn't quite returned to their usual rhythm, not after everything that had happened the previous year. Some days she doubted they ever would. Still, the boss had never separated them like this before.

"I need them on a current job, at least for now", Stillman explained.

"Sending the women away?", Lilly asked. Stillman laughed humourlessly.

"Something like that. The job, it's been brought up by a retired officer. Helen Roper. She'll talk more openly with you and Miller. Doesn't trust male police officers", Stillman explained.

"Any particular reason?", Lilly asked, though her own experiences meant she could make some educated guesses as to why.

"Roper was in the first draft of women police officers who started patrol in Philly in '76", Stillman explained, "Wasn't easy for any of them. Even those of us who weren't actively standing in their way could have done more to make their lives easier and we didn't".

"One of the pioneers?", Lilly asked, she'd read up on the officers in 1976 when she had been at the academy. Reading the accounts of what they had gone through and comparing them to her own experiences didn't exactly reassure her that the world of policing had changed all that much.

"I don't know if she's seeing ghosts that aren't there but...", Stillman patted the box, "case was never closed so worth another look at what she's got".

"Miller know about this?", Lilly asked as she got up and grabbed the box.

Stillman shook his head, "Brief her on the way, she's just finishing up some paperwork on the Johnson case".

Scotty and Vera were crowded around Jeffries desk, much to the other man's irritation. Lilly turned to hide her smile as Jeffries moved Scotty's cup to a more sensible place on a coaster and glared at the younger man. She weaved through the desks and stopped at Kat Miller's desk. 

"Hey, boss wants us to check out a possible cold one", Lilly greeted. Kat nodded and finished the line she was writing and saved the document. 

"Just us?", Kat asked. She hovered her hand over her coat for a moment, checked out the window and then left it where it was. 

"Yeah, he's got the others on a live one. Officer Helen Roper, one of the first female patrol in '76 and the boss thinks she'll be more open with us", Lilly cast one last look over at the others before heading towards the elevator with Kat close behind. 

-

Lilly and Kat shared a look as they pulled up outside Helen Roper's current address, a house in Haddonfield, all green lawns, white fences and children on bikes playing in the street.

"Far cry from pounding the streets in Fishtown", Kat commented as she put the car into park.

"Perhaps that's the point", Lilly said as they got out the car, walked up to the door and knocked.

"Detectives Miller and Rush, we're looking for Helen Roper?", Kat greeted the teenager who opened the door and held up her badge. The boy glanced over it for just long enough to have checked it and then turned around.

"Auntie!", the boy called as he disappeared from view, replaced in a few seconds by an older woman. For a split second, Lilly could see the resemblance with the photograph in the file she had been reading on the drive over, though Helen's hair was much shorter now and her build stockier.

Kat repeated her greeting and Helen chuckled and waved them inside, "I know who you are. Think any of the female old guard don't know about you two?"

As they followed her inside, Lilly raised an eyebrow at Kat who just shook her head with a smile. 

"So, Stillman took me seriously after all, never was sure what to think of him", Helen sat down on one of the armchairs and gestured to the sofa.

Lilly went to speak and then noticed Helen massaging her knee with a wince and paused. The woman quickly pulled her hand away when she saw Lilly glance at the movement so Lilly smiled quickly and went back to her notes.

"I read the file on the way over, you knew Colum Byrne, the victim?", Lilly asked.

"In a sense, didn't know he was going to be so important at the time though. It started when I was out on patrol with my partner, Peter Wakeford..."

_October 13th, 1976_

_Music: The Eagles - One of These Nights_

"Just wave 'em on, they're not hurting anyone and we ain't caught them in the act", Peter made over exaggerated arm waves towards the group of sex workers on the corner. A few rolled their eyes and one winked at Peter, but they all drifted away from the corner with little encouragement.

"We don't book them?", Helen asked, following his lead.

"We see them doing something, sure, but most these ladies are just trying to make ends meet", Peter shrugged as he shoved his hands into his coat and hunched his shoulders to keep warm.

"Or forced into it", Helen pointed out.

"Then...", Peter said, pointing back towards the main road, "we go after the pimps, the guys running the gig".

Helen was about to ask Peter more about his views on policing the women who worked the streets but the sound of someone shouting stopped her. Peter spun on the spot and seemed to pinpoint where the noise had come from and took off running. Helen chased after him, keeping just a few paces behind him despite Peter's much longer stride. They took a tight corner to run through the alleyway backing down on a couple of take-away places and then Peter led them out onto one of the side roads. Helen spotted the injured woman first and waved for Peter to follow her.

"Hey, are you okay?", Helen asked and the woman flinched, reminding Helen that she hadn't identified herself, "I'm a police officer".

The identification didn't help much and once Helen had a chance to get a good look at the woman, she saw why. A nasty gouge had split her lip, her eye was bloodied and streaks of blood were smeared down her face.

"Who did this to you?", Helen asked but that only made the woman wail a gut-wrenching sound.

Helen glanced over her shoulder to see Peter finishing up calling in for an ambulance on his radio and then he turned to look for bystanders and witnesses. She turned her attentions back to trying to console the woman until the ambulance arrived and then, with the paramedics taking over, she jogged over to Peter.

"Any joy?", she asked.

"Seen nothing, heard nothing, know nothing", Peter said dryly, "Except maybe our friend here, but he's not inclined to be helpful".

"Told you, I was just walking past and heard a woman call out. Didn't see anymore than that", the man protested loudly.

"Like I said", Peter said and he shook his head as he walked towards one of the other bystanders.

"You sure that's all you heard?", Helen asked the man quietly.

"Like I said, I just heard her call out. Didn't seem right to run off", the man shrugged. Something about the way he said it gave Helen pause and she took a shabby card out of her pocket with the details for the 26th District Police Station - she really had to start keeping better care of them, the ink was rubbing off the top one already - and handed him one.

"Well, if you maybe think you remember something else, that's where we work out of", Helen said and then she added, "Ask for Officer Roper".

_Present Day_

"Take it he did have more to say?", Kat asked, writing notes as they listened.

"Oh yes", Helen said and she glanced past Lilly towards the doorway, "Anton, either come in and listen where we can see you or do a better job of hiding would you?"

"Sorry", the boy who had opened the door to them slunk in and sat on one of the other chairs, "You don't talk much about when you were a cop is all".

"My nephew, too curious for his own good", Helen laughed and she turned her attention back to Lilly and Kat.

"This witness?", Kat prompted.

"Right...", Helen returned to her retelling and Kat and Lilly both took notes as Helen recounted bumping into the man, Colum, at one of her usual coffee shops and him saying he had information about the assault.

"I thought it was just some creepy guy playing games, messing with the women officers, you know?", Helen said, "It wasn't like we were popular around Philly or anything".

"But he had something?", Lilly asked and Helen nodded.

"Something bigger than I could handle at the time, thinking back", Helen said, "He told me that it wasn't some random mugging, that the woman was assaulted by the son of some up and coming political type and that Colum had actually come across them in one of the alleys and interrupted the attack. The woman had stumbled into the street and the guy was long gone by the time Peter and I arrived".

Lilly stopped writing and hovered her pen over the notepad, "You followed up on this?"

"Tried to but I had to push it up the ladder and it...", Helen ran her tongue over her teeth and smiled bitterly, "it never gained any traction. They arrested a homeless guy who had been attacking people for their wallets and purses, lumped this assault in with all of that even though it didn't match up".

"Then Colum showed up dead?", Kat asked.

"Right on my patrol, I always wondered if it was a warning you know, to keep my mouth shut", then Helen grinned genuinely, "I never was very good at that but it didn't help with my credibility. Got a _reputation_ for being dramatic and more trouble than I was worth".

"You keep any notes from then, ones that didn't make it into evidence?", Lilly asked, thinking of her own personal notes tucked away where no-one else saw them.

"Sure do, kept a lot of things from back then", Helen got up with a wince and walked over to the desk in the corner. She opened the drawer and pulled out some notebooks.

"At the time, I didn't make the connection", Helen handed over her notebooks and then handed over a newspaper and pointed to the photograph, "this was taken a day, maybe two after Colum was killed, I kept the newspaper because there was a piece on female officers, didn't notice the photograph at the time".

Lilly held the newspaper so Kat could see it and they examined the photograph of the beaming politician - Andrew Merrywings - and his family at a fundraiser. Kat spotted what Helen had found,

"His hands", she pointed to the younger man, presumably Andrew's son, "knuckles look like he was in a fight".

Lilly breathed out slowly, "It's not much to go on, could have happened anywhere".

"I know it's not enough to open a case", Helen said, "that's why I didn't call when I saw that. I looked him up. Went into politics like his old man, nothing big league but smaller stuff. Turns out Toby Merrywings, that's his name, has a trail of rumours following him over the years. Likes to get rough with women is the word. _And_ the day after this fundraiser, his family sent him off to a rehabilitation centre for anger management".

Lilly looked at the photograph again, "It's still thin Roper"

"I know and I might be making a fool of myself but I thought...I let Colum down back then. Didn't take him seriously and then it was too late", Helen said, "and I wanted to just try to make it right".

"We could review the evidence, maybe there's something we have now to explain something we couldn't then, and if we find something we can get traction on...?", Kat glanced over at Lilly who nodded.

"Alright. We'll take a look".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some creative licensing here (as with most the Cold Case episodes in canon) such as I have no idea if the 26th District had any of the first female officers on patrol on it's team and my research couldn't answer that for me.


	3. Chapter 3

_Present Day_

"Roper's right about one thing", Kat said as she flicked through some of the papers covering her desk, "the attack on Cynthia Adams didn't match up to the other attacks that went on that Autumn but they just brushed over that".

"Cynthia's assault was far more brutal", Lilly added, holding the photographs out to Kat.

The difference was apparent at even a glance. The victims of the muggings had few injuries - the occasional bruised cheek from a scuffle or graze from being knocked over - whereas Cynthia was barely recognisable in her photographs, she was so badly beaten.

"Still not enough to re-open though", Lilly said. While they had opened jobs for less in the past, the entire unit was coming under increased pressure to only re-open and commit resources when there was a solid lead.

"You got Roper's notes over there? I need to check something", Kat asked, one finger on a particular line she was reading.

"What gives then, Lil?", Scotty asked, stopping by her desk on his way back to his.

"The case?", Lilly asked, holding the notes out to Kat and pointing to where Helen had made notes about Colum.

"Yeah, you and Miller on a box job and us on a live one, seems off, you know?", Scotty said. Lilly glanced at Stillman's office where the boss was stood while on the phone with someone. It was only a fleeting glance but Scotty saw it all the same.

"Boss wanted it this way, huh?", Scotty asked.

"Just changing it up this time, I guess", Lilly said with a shrug.

"Yeah, sure...", Scotty trailed off and walked away but there was something in his voice that told Lilly that he wasn't convinced. What she was supposed to do about that when she had no idea where the boss's head was at, she didn't know.

Lilly turned back to Kat who was searching for something in the papers on her desk.

"Roper's notes don't match up with her partner's...", Kat said, she pointed out the relevant section to Lilly, "look here, he doesn't even mention speaking to Colum at the scene of that assault. Roper said they both spoke to Colum?"

"She could be mistaken, it's been thirty-five years", Lilly said but she thought that was unlikely given that Colum was the only one who claimed to even see anything, "sloppy police work?"

"Worth asking, you find where Wakeford is these days?", Kat tidied the mess on her desk back into some kind of organisation.

"Yeah, still lives in Fishtown, retired from the force but works part-time at a community centre near his house", Lilly handed the details over for Kat to read, "let's go see how much he remembers of Colum".

Kat read as they walked, glancing up every so often to make sure she didn't bump into anyone. When they came out the elevator on the ground floor, ADA Curtis Bell was just arriving and they shared a terse nod of greeting before Kat pocketed the notes she'd been reading.

"Make-up chat didn't go so well, called it a day for good", Kat said as they reached Lilly's car. Lilly paused with her on the driver's door handle and raised an eyebrow for a clue on what Kat was talking about. Kat chuckled to herself.

"Forgot you don't do much of the inter-departmental gossip", Kat said, and she got into the car. Lilly followed and pulled out of the car park and onto the road, heading West.

"You and Bell, you mean?", Lilly asked.

"Yeah, what's the point fighting for something that's all spent?", Kat shrugged.

"I hear you", Lilly agreed.

"Anyway, just kinda glad at least someone on the team heard the truth from me instead of these rumours going around", Kat said, stretching her legs out.

"Been on the end of a few of those, who're you liaising with secretly in cupboards then?", Lilly asked, taking the turning in the direction of Fishtown.

"Who aren't I?", Kat muttered, "Valens' name pops up a lot, Davis from Vice, sure I heard even Vera's name thrown about once, and yours".

Lilly chuckled, "I'm flattered, Miller".

"Don't be, haven't you heard? I'm running around with all these other detectives behind your back", Kat replied dryly.

"Doesn't change does it?", Lilly said, "I got the job in homicide and rumours went around that the boss and I were up to something. That was the only way anyone could reason out how I got in".

"Yeah, I heard that one too...", Kat said with a sigh.

The rest of the car ride was a mixture of semi-comfortable silence and Kat reading off a few key points from Wakeford's notes. 

"This is it", Lilly pulled up in front of the community centre and parked.

"Detectives Rush, Miller", Lilly showed her badge to the man working in reception, "looking for Peter Wakeford?"

They got an unenthusiastic gesture towards one of the doors and Lilly gave an equally unenthusiastic thanks in return. As they stepped inside the room, laid out with sofas, tables and chairs, a pool table and a few other pieces, Lilly spotted Peter straight away. His six foot three frame was a little hunched now and his hair was in the final stages of holding onto salt and pepper, with much more salt than pepper.

"Peter Wakeford?", Kat asked and when the man confirmed, she introduced them.

"Has something happened to one of my kids?", Peter asked, stepping away from the group of teenagers he'd been talking to.

"Nothing like that, we're here about a murder in '76", Kat said, and she held out a photo of Colum for Peter to examine.

"That's a heck of a time ago, I heard the force was spending more resources on cold jobs...", Peter took his glasses from his shirt pocket and put them on to examine the photo, "looks familiar..."

"You and Officer Roper found him November of '76", Lilly prompted and Peter nodded with slow dawning remembrance.

"Sure, kid was a...a witness in an assault of ours. Found him in a parking lot, beaten to death", Peter said and he handed the photograph back, "nasty stuff. Real nasty".

"Roper asked us to take another look, never sat right with her that Colum's death wasn't solved. We wanted to ask your take on things", Kat said and Peter held up one hand as a few of the teenagers began to listen in, having overheard the part about someone being beaten to death.

"Let me just get someone else to keep this lot out of trouble", Peter said with a wink and then he strode across the room to speak to a man stood over there. After their short exchange, he gestured for Lilly and Kat to join him in a small office.

"They're good kids, trying to do right but leave 'em too long and they get themselves in trouble", Peter said with a fond grin, "Remind me of myself as a boy. Anyway, Helen asked you to take another look? Well, I don't know how much I can help but ask your questions".

"Anything stand out as strange to you, about the assault he witnessed or the murder?", Lilly asked.

"Well, it was nasty I suppose but nothing more than that. We came across a lot of assaults and it wasn't so unusual I thought too much different about it", Peter eased himself down onto one of the chairs and stared up at a spot in the ceiling, no doubt getting the memory cogs turning, "and of course, that part of town there were lots of didn't see, didn't hear, don't know conversations with witnesses".

"And the murder?", Kat asked.

"Well, it was strange only because we'd spoken to the guy as a witness. Seemed too coincidental you know?", Peter ran one hand across his chain and frowned, "But the boys in homicide never did get traction and we weren't in the loop anymore".

"Remember anything about Colum?", Lilly asked.

"Sure, cagey when we spoke to him. Got the sense he knew more than he was saying but you can't make someone talk, you know?", Peter said.

"Good memory, since you never wrote up anything about speaking to him", Lilly said.

Peter cleared his throat and he tensed his jaw for a moment. Lilly and Kat shared a glance, not sure what direction this conversation was about to take. Then Peter shook his head with a sigh.

"No point me being all defensive about it, my wife keeps telling me it's no big deal these days", Peter sighed and his tensed posture relaxed as he slumped back into the chair, "Got diagnosed when I was fifty, would you believe? Dyslexic. Back then we didn't have a name for it but I always did have problems with reading and writing, I relied on Helen a lot to help me with my notes...once she realised there was a problem. Before that, I didn't stay on top of paperwork like I should have done and people didn't look as hard at notes as _they_ shoulda done".

"So, is there anything about this case that might not have ended up written down to support re-opening the case?", Lilly asked, not holding out much hope.

"Sorry", Peter said, "there just wasn't much to go on. I think it weighed on Helen, like she thought she got Colum killed. There was a lot of pressure on her, on all the women officers that year".

"Well, thanks for your time", Lilly said, holding out her hand to shake Peter's.

Peter shook hers and then Kat's hands and insisted on walking them to the door and waving them off.

"Well, it's not looking good for re-opening", Kat voiced exactly what Lilly was thinking.

"If the boss really thought there was nothing in this, why'd he ask us to look into", Lilly mused as she followed Kat to the car, "who was the investigating officer?"

Once they got in the car, Kat opened her notes again,

"Manning, Reginald Manning".

"Let's go have a chat with him, see what he remembers".


	4. Chapter 4

_Present Day_

"It's not even three o'clock yet", Kat tapped her packet of cigarettes against the steering wheel as they spotted Reginald Manning through the window, well-settled in at the bar.

"Means he's more like to be coherent", Lilly offered.

Kat tapped her cigarettes one last time and then shoved them into the pocket of her coat,

"You know of this guy?"

"Not even by name", Lilly admitted and she opened the car door, "Come on".

Lilly understood Kat's reluctance. Interviews with other police - current or retired - were tricky enough at the best of times. Add enough alcohol and loose tongues were often laden with insults. 

"Detective Manning?", Lilly greeted.

Reginald turned stiffly and looked them up and down, 

"Who's asking?"

"Detectives Rush, Miller, homicide. Just wanted to ask you about a case of yours from seventy-six", Lilly explained.

Reginald snorted, and took a long drink from his glass, nearly draining it.

"Department has different priorities than when I was on the force", he said.

"We don't like assholes getting away with murder", Lilly used a similar line to the one she had when she shut down Scotty's criticism of working cold jobs in his first day. She paused for a moment, the memory creeping back from so long ago that she wondered what had made her think of it.

Reginald made eye contact with the bartender and nodded towards his glass. The woman behind the bar started to pour him another drink. 

"Let's get this over with then", Reginald lumbered around to face Lilly and Kat.

"You remember this vic? Colum Byrne", Lilly asked handing Reginald a photograph. Reginald looked at it and his jaw tightened.

"Yeah, I remember him", Reginald sighed, he turned and thanked the bartender for his new drink before continuing, "Most popular vic I ever had, with the women at least. You two and that crackpot Roper back in the day".

"Crackpot huh?", Kat glanced at Lilly who tensed for just a moment and then put her unaffected front back up.

Reginald ignored Kat, blatantly, and looked expectantly at Lilly. Lilly kept her mouth shut and her face blank while they stood in a cold stand-off. Reginald finally buckled and he looked at Kat,

"Yeah, woman was obsessed. Think she had a thing going with him the way she hassled us about the case".

"You never did find the doer though", Lilly said and Reginald's nostrils flared and he struggled up off of his stool.

"This what the force come to these days? Sending women out to harass detectives?", Reginald demanded, "that bum was killed in a street fight, just like I told that Roper back then".

"How'd you figure that?", Lilly asked.

"It's what happened", Reginald didn't elaborate, "You want to know anything else, go read my notes".

"Yeah, cos they're real comprehensive", Kat muttered as they left the bar, "that was a waste of time".

"Except...wonder why he was so adamant it was a street fight", Lilly said, "Odd thing to try and pin it on, right?"

"Yeah", Kat leant against the car, one hand on the passenger door handle, "Why not just a mugging gone bad? That's usually what they chalk it up to when they got no answers".

"Let's check other arrests from Fishtown that year", Lilly said, getting in the car.

"There was a guy in my unit in Narcotics who worked Fishtown in seventy-six, bit friendlier than Manning", Kat said, "I'll give him a call".

-

"Benson remembers there being a whole load of street fights in seventy-six", Kat's voice echoed a little in the storeroom as she walked down to the spot where Lilly sat on the floor, surrounded by files and log-books, "No idea what set off the increase, best guess was some kind of gambling ring boosted the fight numbers. Funny thing, he thought he recognised Colum's name but couldn't say where from".

"Benson...there's some with his name next to the write-ups there", Lilly waved at one of the stacks and Kat sat down with an exaggerated sigh.

"Aren't we getting too old to be sitting on the floor?", Kat grumbled as she flicked through the papers.

Ten minutes later, Kat found the write-up,

"Here he is, Colum Byrde. Questioned in a...huh...".

Lilly waited for a follow-up but Kat fell silent as she finished reading the report and all Lilly could do was wait. Eventually, Kat sat back against the shelves and noticed Lilly watching expectantly.

"Sorry", Kat said, handing the file over, "He questioned Colum about another assault on a woman, three months before Roper even met him. That's one hell of a coincidence, right?"

"Too much of a coincidence...", Lilly said as she read, "Maybe Colum wasn't just an innocent bystander who grew a conscience".

"Pinning the blame on Merrywings to cover up his own crimes?", Kat asked.

"Or in it with Merrywings and flipping on him", Lilly suggested, "Had to be some reason he brought up his name right?"

"Think any of the women from back then'll talk to us?", Kat asked, "Been thirty-five years, might be easier to talk about what happened, who did it?"

"Cynthia Adams moved to England fifteen years ago, I'm still trying to track her down", Lilly got up and began putting the other files away, "but let's see if Jacqueline Rivera's still around".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the shorter update - having sustained a hand injury many of my fic updates will be slower than usual.


	5. Chapter 5

_Present Day_

The woman who opened the door to the apartment scrutinised their badges through the crack before closing the door and releasing the security chain. 

"I'm Jacqueline Rivera", she confirmed, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning on the doorframe, "What's this about?" 

"Mind if we come in?", Kat asked, "It might be...", she trailed off as one of the neighbours stepped out of their apartment with a single pizza box to take down to the recycling shoot, "...something to discuss inside". 

Jacqueline glared at the neighbour and then stepped aside and let the detectives in. 

"Too nosy for their own good around here", Jacqueline locked the door and then led them through to the living room and sat down, "Out with it then". 

"You were attacked in seventy-six?", Lilly asked. 

Jacqueline shifted in her seat and looked past Lilly for a moment then refocused her attention. 

"What about it? Long time ago", she said. 

"We're investigating a murder from around the time and we think the victim might have witnessed your attack", Kat held out a photograph of Colum.

Jacqueline looked at the photograph and shook her head, 

"Don't recognise him, sorry". 

"Can you tell us about the attack?", Lilly asked. 

"Seriously? It was thirty-odd years ago", Jacqueline sat back in the armchair and, when Lilly nodded, sighed and continued, "I was walking home from work, I had a part-time job at the corner shop. Coming through the alley I always took as a shortcut, I got hit in the face. The guy hit me again a bunch of times when I was on the floor then someone yelled, interrupted him and that was it". 

"Did you get a look at either of them?", Kat asked, "the man who attacked you, the person who interrupted?" 

"No, coward hit me right across both eyes as I came round the corner", Jacqueline paused and fiddled with the cross around her neck, "I didn't think about it at the time but with his arm, not his fist. Like one of those wrestling moves" 

"Clothesline?", Kat offered. She ignored Lilly's raised eyebrow. 

"That's it, my boy used to watch a lot of that wrestling on TV. Always going on about the moves.", Jacqueline said, "Then the guy hit me in the face, busted my eyebrows, split my lip, broke my cheekbone. There was blood everywhere, I didn't see much". 

"Any little thing could help, it might not seem important", Kat prompted gently and they both waited as Jacqueline turned what had to be an awful memory over in her head.

"I didn't mention it to the police, it seemed so insignificant", Jacqueline spoke slowly, "his hands.... no, sorry, his fingertips were rough".

Lilly paused mid-notetaking and asked, "Did you hear his voice?" 

"He didn't speak", Jacqueline shook her head, "just hit... I don't know what would have happened if the other guy hadn't yelled at him".

"There weren't many details about the person who stopped the attack in the case file", Lilly prompted carefully. 

"That's cos he wasn't such a good samaritan that he hung about", Jacqueline said, she adjusted the cushion behind her and continued, "Stopped the guy beating on me but didn't hang around. A girl and her boyfriend at the takeaway round the corner heard the commotion. They called the cops and stayed with me".

"You said the other man shouted, anything distinct about his voice? Did you hear exactly what he said?", Lilly asked. 

"Just that he was Irish but I didn't recognise his voice or nothing", Jacqueline shrugged, "and I didn't remember what he said". 

Lilly and Kat shared a glance of cautious optimism, then Jacqueline went to say something and stopped herself. 

"What is it?", Lilly asked. 

"I might be remembering wrong", Jacqueline hesitated, "I got the sense they knew each other". 

"How so?", Kat leant forward. 

Jacqueline turned the thought over and over and both detectives waited, giving her the time she needed to do so. 

"I think they spoke to each other, angry like, but it wasn't... Maybe it's just a feeling", Jacqueline sat back in the chair, "Sorry I couldn't be more help". 

Lilly smiled and thanked Jacqueline for her time as she escorted them back to the door. 

"You're not doing this to find out who attacked me, not really, are you?", Jacqueline asked as Lilly and Kat stepped out into the hallway, "Was it the Irish man who got killed?"

"We don't know yet", Lilly conceded, "and it's true, we are looking into a homicide but maybe we get you some answers at the same time".

Jacqueline seemed satisfied with the answer and closed the door.

"Think Benson's memory'll hold up for a questioning thirty-five years later?", Lilly asked and Kat laughed at her optimism.

"Hell if I know, but let's go find out".

-

"Kat Miller", Benson got up from his desk with a grin, "don't hear anything for months, then a phone call and a visit in one week. What's going on? You thinking of a move back to Narcotics?"

"You wish", Kat greeted him and then gestured to Lilly, "Lilly Rush, my colleague at homicide". 

Benson and Lilly exchanged greetings and they sat down to get to business. 

"This all about an old murder, right?", Benson asked, leaning back in his chair. 

"Right, we followed up with the victim from the assault you worked but she doesn't remember much", Kat said, she pushed the photographs of Colum and of Jacqueline from the case file across the table.

Benson turned the photos with his fingertips and nodded, "I knew I remembered him, that's definitely the man I spoke to".

"You're sure?", Kat asked, "I don't mean to -"

"But it was thirty-odd years ago, I know", Benson pushed the photographs back, "I remember because that witness was odd".

"How so?", Lilly asked.

"Well..."

_August 17th, 1976_

_Music: Blinded by the Night - Mandred Mann's Earth Band_

"Look, I told you I didn't see nothing", the witness, Colum Byrde, shifted from foot to foot, arms wrapped around himself trying to keep warm.

"We've got two people said they saw you near the scene, walking over to this diner", Benson pushed, moving to block Colum's view of the ambulance.

"She alright?", Colum nodded towards the scene.

"She was attacked, what do you think?", Benson asked, "Now, I can see someone fleeing the scene for all sorts of reasons, some of them even the kinds of reasons an innocent man would have. I'm finding it harder to think why someone would leave the scene and lurk in a nearby diner to watch".

Colum shrugged and looked around again; it was as though he were expecting someone to appear from the shadows and rescue him from this conversation. Benson looked around but he couldn't see anyone paying attention to them.

"I didn't see anything, I always come this way home and I always stop off here on my way", Colum said, "Can I go?"

"Just as soon as I get your-", Benson was cut off by shouting behind him and he looked over his shoulder to where a man was leaning out of the window of his car, bellowing about the ambulance blocking the road he needed to turn down to get home. Benson shook his head and turned back to Colum.

"Assholes", Colum said, "Rich boys think they can make everyone else jump when they say jump".

"You know him?", Benson asked, gesturing with his pen.

"His type. You need my contact details right?", Colum asked.

Benson nodded and took them down before waving Colum off with a copy of his card.

_Present Day_

"I know he knew something but never could get to the bottom of it", Benson explained, "and the address he gave was some shared accommodation deal, he'd moved on by the time I went to question him again".

"That strike you as suspicious?", Kat asked.

"I thought so but not because I figured he was the doer", Benson said, "whoever attacked Miss Rivera would have had marks on their own hands with the force. This guy had none of those kinds of injuries. Nah, he was hiding something but he wasn't the one who attacked that woman".

"Thanks", Kat finished up. Lilly stood and shook Benson's hand.

"I'll wait in the car", Lilly said, leaving Kat to say her own goodbyes.

"Ever think of getting away from homicide with all the corruption rumours?", Benson asked quietly.

"Like Narcotics is free of those?", Kat asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Point taken, but there's talk about all the stuff they let fly over there", Benson said, "Watch yourself, Kat, because I think there'll be changes soon".

"Sure", Kat said slowly, shaking Benson's hand, "See you around".

Lilly had the car running by the time Kat caught up with her.

"This guy was at two beatings, uncooperative both times", Kat said as she buckled into the passenger's seat, "That's a weird coincidence. Do we believe in coincidences?"

"Maybe, but not this one", Lilly said, tapping her fingers against the steering wheel, "Let's see what other addresses we can find linked to Colum, give Roper a call and see if she ever got a permanent address from him, find someone who knew him".


	6. Chapter 6

_Present Day_

"This guy just bounced from address to address", Kat sighed, adding another address to the bottom of their list, "that makes six in two years and none of them cover the date that he died".

"Gonna be tough chasing down someone who knew him", Lilly glanced up as Scotty approached their desk, "Hey Scotty". 

"You've got a visitor", Scotty said as he passed the table. He was almost back at his own desk before Lilly could thank him.

"Leave it", Kat waved Lilly's attention back to the door where Peter Wakeford stood, "He look guilty about something to you?"

Lilly watched as Peter fiddled with the buttons on the cuffs of his shirts and how when he stopped doing that, he adjusted his sports jacket. He only looked over at them when Lilly stood up.

"Mr Wakeford", Lilly greeted as she approached him, "Did you remember something?"

"Got something I need to say", Peter said, the firm nod of his head seemed as much as a reassurance for him as a confirmation of facts. Lilly gestured towards the interview rooms and nodded for Kat to join her.

"You know how a secret sometimes just... You live with it so long it almost seems like it's not really a secret no more?", Peter asked as they sat down.

Lilly and Kat kept quiet. Peter seemed the type who needed space and quiet to talk himself into what he really wanted to say.

"Over time, I guess you reason that it wasn't so bad. Then life goes on", Peter put his hands on the table and gripped one tightly in the other.

With one final deep breath, Peter looked up at them, "I knew Helen spoke to Colum Byrne again. And I knew that whatever he knew had to be important".

Peter hesitated, looked away from Lilly and Kat to a space just over their heads. All of a sudden he looked older than his years, weighed down with the words he couldn't force out. 

"How did you know, Peter?", Lilly asked softly.

A few seconds passed. Peter's eyes softened and he looked back at them, 

"My lieutenant sent me to go and _convince_ Byrne to move on from Havertown", Peter said.

Kat kept up with his words in her quick, tidy handwriting while Lilly rested her forearms on the table and asked, "Convince how?"

"However was necessary", Peter bit into the last word with such venom that Lilly waited for a beat before continuing.

"And what did you consider necessary?", Lilly asked.

"Going up there, I thought I'd do anything to keep my lieutenant happy, to keep my job", Peter swallowed a lump in his throat and continued, "then when I got there, parked up outside Byrne's place, all I could think was how disappointed in me Diane would be".

"Your wife?", Lilly moved her chair around to a right angle from Peter.

Peter nodded, "She deserved more than a man who was thinking about hurting someone else just because his lieutenant had something over him".

The next spell of silence went on for a good few minutes. Lilly put her pen down, she wasn't the one writing anyway, and the click of it touching the table seemed too loud.

"So what did you do?", Lilly asked.

"I turned my car around and drove back home", Peter spoke slowly, words tumbling out one by one in heavy admission, "then I never told anyone what he'd asked me to do. Not even after Byrne died".

"Why not?", Kat asked.

Peter clenched his jaw for a moment before replying, 

"I told myself it was because I was a pariah for not doing what I was told, so no-one would have listened to me anyway", Peter said, "The only time they were dealing with me was to mess with me. Kept finding children's books in my locker, had a few write-ups returned with red pen corrections, you know"

"They were letting you know they knew about your difficulties", Lilly asked. 

"Helen was the only one stuck with me the whole time. Never asked but she knew they had me singled out", Peter rubbed his hands over his face and breathed out slowly, "I let her down. She was fighting against something she didn't even know the half of and I could have done something, could have helped her. Maybe even saved Byrne's life..."

Lilly could see she was about to lose Peter to self-blame and asked, "Who was your lieutenant back in the day?"

"Walker. Lieutenant Richard Walker", Peter ran his palm over the tablet and paused for a moment, "The order would have come from higher than him though".

Lilly saw the way Kat's gazed flickered in her direction and knew that the other detective's thoughts had immediately gone to Mannings, just like hers. She asked Peter to write down the address of the place he had been sent to. 

"Thanks for coming in", Lilly pushed her chair back and got to her feet. 

"Sure", Peter looked disappointed, he had no doubt been hoping that Lilly and Kat would exact some kind of punishment to end his years of guilt. 

As Peter left homicide, Kat typed the address into the database. 

"There's a few arrests on record at the address for a Theodore Shepard the same year Peter was sent to find Colum. Solicitation", Kat read off the screen and then looked up the name as well, "DMV has an up to date address, he's still in Havertown". 

-

"Theodore Shepard?", Lilly asked the man who opened the door. It was quite unnecessary in a way, the similarity to the mugshots in the files was striking. 

"Who's asking?", the man asked. 

"Detectives Rush, Miller. We're investigating the murder of Colum Byrne", Lilly said, "You knew him?" 

"After all this time?", Theodore's eyebrows shot up but he opened the door wider and let them inside. 

"You were arrested with Colum a few times back when you lived on Eagle Road", Lilly asked, letting her gaze travel around the room and take mental notes before she sat down on the sofa. 

"Sure", Theodore hesitated and then asked, "You're investigating his murder so you're not interested in smaller crimes, right?" 

"We're not interested in thirty-year-old solicitation charges", Kat reassured. 

Theodore was quiet for a few moments longer and then shifted and leant forward, elbows on his knees. 

"Colum and I had a thing going back then, not just the solicitation but shaking down the johns", Theodore explained, choosing his words carefully, "We never hurt anyone, well not physically can't say we never hurt their wallets or their pride. When things were tight we'd let the other one know if a new, rich john were on the scene. Then we'd persuade him to be generous". 

"Blackmail?", Lilly asked and Theodore inclined his head in confirmation. 

"Not my proudest moment", he said, "We worked the streets together for about six or seven months, blackmailed four johns in that time". 

"Any of them come around looking for payback?", Kat asked. 

"Not one of them no, but Colum did have a visit a bit before he was killed. A man I'd never seen before..." 

_November 18th 1976_

_Music: This Masquerade - George Benson  
_

Theodore leant against the railing on the fire escape and took another smoke on his cigarette. He glanced around at the sound of knocking on their apartment door but let Colum answer it. 

Hushed voices followed and the door shut. For a moment Theodore assumed it was one of their neighbours complaining about something but then the hushed voices returned and grew louder. 

Theodore put his cigarette out in the empty plant pot they used as an ashtray and stepped closer to the window, peering inside to where Colum stood talking intently to a man Theodore had never seen before. 

"You owe me", the man said, gesturing and pointing in Colum's face.

Colum brushed the hand away, "Protecting you was one thing but this? Nah, this is something else". 

Theodore pulled back as Colum turned and walked back to the door. 

"That's it?", the man demanded. The sound of their front door being opened again prompted Theodore to lean forward again, in time to see the man walking through the doorway. 

"That's it", Colum confirmed and he pushed the door shut behind the man. 

Theodore returned to the railing and lit up another cigarette. A minute or so later and Colum clambered out of the window to join him. 

"You hear that?", Colum asked gruffly. 

"Some, friend of yours?", Theodore asked, "He going to cause us problems?" 

"No. Just someone from a misspent youth", Colum lit up his own cigarette, "Won't be a problem" 

"Misspent youth", Theodore echoed with a grin, "You got a funny way of saying things sometimes" 

_Present Day_

"Think you'd recognise the guy?", Lilly asked and Theodore laughed.

"All this time later?", he chuckled, "Doubt it".

Lilly nodded over to Kat all the same and she put out a selection of photographs. Theodore pushed them around one-by-one, examining each and shaking his head until he reached the photograph of a young Toby and picked it up.

"Well, I'll be damned", Theodore said slowly, "That's him".

"You're sure?", Kat asked.

"Sure as you can be about something that long ago, so I don't know what stock you'd put in it", Theodore admitted, "but yeah".

It probably wouldn't hold up in court but they didn't need it to, not yet. For the first time, they had something to take hold of and suggest that Helen Roper wasn't chasing ghosts in a guilt-ridden attempt to soothe her conscience. Which meant something to keep them investigating.

"Thanks and Colum never told you what it was about?", Lilly asked as they got up to leave.

"Nah, he could be secretive at times. Not anything dodgy but as though he had to stay safe that way, you know?", Theodore explained as he walked them to the door.

"One last thing", Kat suddenly thought as they stepped out into the hallways, "You said he pointed in Colum's face, were his hands all busted up?"

"Not that I remember", Theodore shrugged, "I think I woulda asked if he looked like a bruiser".

They thanked Theodore one last time and returned to the car.

"I better update the boss", Lilly said, gesturing for Kat to take the driver's seat, "Looks like we've finally got something worth talking to Toby Merrywings about".


	7. Chapter 7

_Present Day_

"You think there's something in this", Stillman said steepling his fingers and frowning, "that this Toby Merrywings was involved. You peg him for the doer?"

Lilly hesitated and glanced at Kat who looked equally uncertain, "Not sure about the murder, boss. He was definitely involved but his history shows him beating on women. My experience, his type tends to back down pretty quickly when another man gets in their face".

"But Colum owed him something so maybe Merrywings had other people who owed him favours", Kat suggested, "He's definitely involved in those unsolved assaults".

"Statute of limitations is long over for those", Stillman said, more to himself than the detectives, "He agreed to a sit-down?"

"At his townhouse", Lilly said, "I'm sure the family lawyer will be there too"

"Completely by the book", Stillman's voice grew firm and he patted the table with one palm.

"Sure", Lilly said.

"I mean it", Stillman continued and his sharp gaze focused first on Lilly and then Kat, "Been a lot of talk about this department so not a single step out of protocol".

"No problem", Lilly said and Stillman finally nodded and let them leave.

"Kind of intense", Kat commented as they walked over to the elevator, "Something happen we don't know about?"

Lilly shook her head but the memory of Christina and the man who had taken her gnawed at Lilly's conscience. She glanced back at Stillman one more time before stepping into the elevator.

-

"Thank you so much for meeting me here, between meetings and phone calls it can be so challenging to get away", Toby Merrywings shook both their hands, clasping them with two hands in an overfamiliar way that made Lilly's skin crawl. She forced a smile on her face and followed Merrywings through to the living room.

Toby sat down in the largest armchair and relaxed back into it. Lilly tried to reconcile the man in front of them with the photograph of him in his teens but if she hadn't known them to be one and the same, the only indicator was the eyes and the slightly off-centre nose. No doubt broke in a fight of some sort.

"You said on the phone that this was about an old murder of some sort?", Toby asked, "Ask away but I doubt I'll be of much help".

"You ever see this man before?", Kat leant forward and pushed the photograph of Colum across the table.

Both Lilly and Kat barely dared to breathe as Toby tensed for just a split second and then casually leant forward and picked up the photograph. He took a good thirty seconds to look at the photo and then set it back down and pushed it back.

"Sorry but no, can't say I've ever seen him before in my life", Toby smiled and clasped his hands in front of himself as he sat back.

Kat took the photograph back while Lilly asked, "Did you ever spent much time down in Fishtown?"

"Again, no, sorry", Toby said, "I may have passed through there a few times, I think my dad did some outreach work in the area back when he was working but I can't be sure".

"And Havertown, Eagle Road area", Kat asked, "Been up that way before?"

Toby's lip twitched and he shook his head, "Not really my sort of area".

"So you know it?", Kat pushed, leaning forward slightly.

"It's been in the news, what with those drug arrests last month. As I said, not somewhere I would spend my time", Toby sat up straighter and then stood up and straightened his sports jacket, "Sorry not to be of more help to you".

A man who expected to set the terms of their meeting, Toby became visibly irritated as Kat took longer than necessary to put away her notebook and the photograph. Lilly took the moment to look at the room and then, just as Toby was about to say something to Kat, Lilly took a few steps towards a photograph.

"That's you with Reginald Mannings, right?", Lilly asked, pointing at the photograph. The photograph was a good few years old; Mannings was in his formal uniform, obviously as some kind of gala or ceremony.

"You know him?", Toby stepped closer.

"Of him", Lilly clarified, "a bit before my time, a friend of the family?"

When she looked at Toby, his smile was tight and he adjusted the cuffs of his shirt twice before answering.

"Mannings and my father worked together on a few initiatives back in the day", Toby waved towards the door and Lilly didn't push her luck, "I am sorry that I couldn't be of more assistance".

Back outside, Lilly and Kat walked the short distance back to where they had parked the car.

"No lawyer", Lilly mused, "Arrogance or ignorance?"

"Maybe both?", Kat said, "I don't know. Usually, you can't step through the door of families like that without at least two lawyers blocking you. Do you think his father knew that he was talking to us?"

"Probably not", Lilly said, "So Mannings, the detective who fumbled the investigation into Colum's murder, is close to Merrywings' family. We need to look into that connection".

"Had a thought", Kat leant against the top of the car, one hand on the door, "Colum told Theodore that Merrywings was from "misspent youth", maybe they knew each other in high school? I doubt Merrywings' father would have him attend the same school as Colum but what if there was another link? Like Colum's parents worked at the school?"

"Worth digging into"

-

"John Stillman, it's been too long", the voice at the door made Stillman look up sharply and he stood up.

"Good to see you, Arturo", Stillman shook the man's hand warmly and gestured to the seat opposite. Arturo tugged the knees of his trousers so they wouldn't crease and sat down.

"Hearing lots of things about you Stillman, you and this team", Arturo grinned.

"Oh, I bet I can think of some of the things you've heard", Stillman chuckled to himself and cleared some space on his desk, tidying the papers he was working on to one side.

"That's why I'm here", Arturo explained, "I think I know something that you need to know".

Stillman sat back in his chair and watched Arturo for a moment and then nodded, "Go on".

"People already know that your two detectives have gone to talk to Merrywings about this homicide they're working on", Arturo explained, "I don't know how but there's already whispers higher up and I'd bet good money that you'll be getting a phone call soon telling you to step away, call your detectives to heel".

Stillman pursed his lips and nodded, "I expected as much. So we've got a leak".

"That's one thing", Arturo checked over his shoulder and continued, "the next is what you're planning on doing".

"You here to tell me what I should do?", Stillman leant forward and put his forearms on the edge of the table.

"Since Doherty's gone, the rumour is the City Managing Director wants to clean house", Arturo explained, "Word is, it's going to be a clean sweep. All three positions are to be replaced. You put much thought into who's going to replace Doherty?"

"Not really, figured whoever it is can't be any worse, right?", Stillman looked away, Arturo would probably see the lie even so. Of course, wondering who would be walking through those doors to dictate how the homicide division would be run and whether they would be from the same corrupt branch as Doherty had been weighing on him.

"Ever thought it could be you?", Arturo asked.

Stillman laughed, "That's one hell of a leap, Arturo".

"Appointed position, doesn't have the same rules as other promotions. You know that John", Arturo crossed his legs, resting the ankle of one leg on the knee of the other, "And people watch, they pay attention".

"Right", Stillman said, "So what is this? Pressure to step off of Merrywings with the golden carrot of promotion dangled in my face? You know me better than that Arturo, even after all this time".

"I do, John", Arturo stood up and approached the door, "So what I'm saying is, I hope I still know you as well as I did back then and can trust you'll do the right thing. Changes are coming, they need to, and when the tree's rotten to the roots, there aren't too many people you want to see come out on top. I think I know what you'll do when that phone call comes in, what I want you to think about is what you'll do after that".

Stillman sat silently for a long time after Arturo left, turning the words over and over, unsure if he was reading his old friend correctly. Then the phone rang.

"Stillman", he answered.

"John, Harvie here. I heard your team's looking into a case from seventy-six?"


	8. Chapter 8

_Present Day_

"Hey boss", Lilly looked up from the computer as Stillman leant against the desk beside her. 

"This Merrywings' history?", Stillman nodded to the various windows Lilly had open on the screen. 

"What we can find, a couple of cautions as a teenager, a domestic assault charge that was dropped...", Lilly nodded to Kat as she returned with more files. 

"And rumours following him everywhere", Kat finished for her, "I think I've found the connection with Colum and Merrywings". 

Kat pulled out a sheet from one of the files and turned it towards Lilly and Stillman. 

"Colum's father, Oisin, worked as a groundskeeper in the private school Merrywings attended", Kat pointed it out on his employment record, "He was let go in 1970, no reason provided. Oisin passed away back in 2005 but I called around and tracked down the school secretary". 

Lilly and Stillman shared a smile, if their job had taught them anything it was that the secretary always knew all of a school's secrets. 

"Turns out, Oisin was let go because of some kind of trouble his son got into", Kat explained, "and because he wasn't meant to even have his son on school grounds with him, they fired him".

"Anything on what this trouble was?", Stillman asked. 

"Colum broke another student's nose in a fistfight", Kat said, "Barrett Hawthorne".

Stillman grunted, "Father's a hot shot lawyer. Or was, rather. Barrett took over the firm years back". 

"Look at you and your knowledge of the upper class", Lilly teased, "Think he'll enlighten us on Colum and Merrywings?" 

"Barrett's not a bad sort, all considered, so if he's got nothing else to hide, probably", Stillman stood up and brushed off his suit, "Tread lightly though". 

-

Treading lightly was easy enough to do when Kat checked Barrett's alibi for Colum's murder and found Barrett had spent the entirety of 1976 in Europe. Lilly made a comment about 'how the other half live' but it meant that they could skip the alibi dance. Barrett, as it turned out, was happy to help. The detectives watched as Barrett leant back in his chair and smirked while looking at the photograph of Colum, then tapped his nose and nodded, almost as though he were remembering a fond memory. 

"Sure, I remember Colum", Barrett handed the photograph back, "Nearly knocked me onto my ass". 

"No hard feelings then?", Kat asked carefully. 

Barrett laughed, "For Colum? No. I wasn't going to do anything about it, except maybe return the favour but then Miss Marsters walked in and sized up the situation. Next thing any of us knew, Mr Byrne was out and none of us saw Colum at school again". 

"How's a kid like Colum even end up inside the same school as you all?", Lilly asked. 

"Colum used to help his old man out sometimes..."

_23rd April 1970_

_The Boys are Back in Town - Thin Lizzy  
_

Colum unloaded the new chairs from the back of the van and lined them up against the hall. Once he'd finished that, he loaded the old chairs into the van. 

"Don't seem much wrong with them to me", Colum heaved another stack up and dragged them up into the van. 

"They replace furniture like this all the time", his father leant against the back door of the van and caught his breath, "Least now Elaine sees that they send their old stuff to other schools. Goodwill gesture". 

Colum nodded but bit his tongue to stop himself making some kind of snide comment about the rich bestowing charity onto those they saw as worse off than them. He jumped down, grabbed the last stack of chairs and loaded them up into the van. 

"That's it", Colum pushed the back doors shut, "I'll get on taking the others inside... You okay dad?" 

Oison waved off Colum's concerned and clapped his son on the shoulder, "Stop fussing over your old man, I'll finish up the paperwork with Elaine at the front desk and then I'll come and help". 

Colum had moved half the chair inside when he heard raised voices coming towards him from down the corridor. 

"Where's your bodyguard Tobes?", he recognised Barrett Hawthorne's voice and groaned, "Or are you going to fight your own battle this time?" 

Colum watched as Toby Merrywings stumbled backwards into view at the end of the corridor. A second later, Barrett and some of his friends followed. Barrett shoved Toby harder and this time the boy fell backwards and skidded a foot or so on the floor. 

"So? What's the truth Tobes? Amelia says you got rough with her so I think it's only fair if we're rough with you", Barrett tapped Toby's leg with the side of his shoe. 

"It wasn't... I...", Toby crawled away from Barrett and his face lit up when he saw Colum watching, "Colum! You've got to help me". 

Colum slowly lowered the stack of chairs he had been moving and walked over, each step taking more effort than it should, until he was just a metre or so from the group. 

"This doesn't concern you", Barrett pointed at him, as though trying to hold him at bay with gesture alone, "Toby here has some explaining to do". 

"Now listen-", before Toby could get going, Colum interrupted him. 

"What did you do to Amelia?", Colum asked.

"Nothing! I swear", Toby's voice grew higher pitched and he held up his hands defensively. 

"That's a lie", Barrett leant down and slapped Toby's hands aside. Colum shoved him away. 

"I'm asking him first", Colum said. 

"And you think you'll get a straight answer?", Barrett asked, "Go on then, ask him about Libby as well".

"I didn't touch her either", Toby bellowed as he clambered into a sitting position. 

"Bullshit!", Barrett took a swing at Toby, only to have Colum grab his arm before his blow connected, "Let go of me". 

Barrett shoved Colum off him and lunged towards him. Colum ducked his clumsy attack, stepped to one side and slammed his fist straight on into Barrett's noise. Barrett staggered backwards, covering his nose with both hands. 

"What on earth is going on here?", Miss Marsters clattered down the hallway on heels too high to be running in. 

_Present Day_

"So Colum lands a punch like that on you and you just say let bygones be bygones?", Kat raised an eyebrow in disbelief. 

"I was pissed at the time, sure, but by the end of the day I felt bad for Colum. We all did. Being under Toby Merrywing's thumb was a nasty place to be". 

"How did Colum end up under there in the first place? Sounds to me like he could have seen off Merrywings if he wanted", Kat asked. 

"Way we all heard it, Colum owed him", Barrett shrugged, "Anti-Irish sentiment of the times, Colum was jumped one day by local boys from one of the state schools and Toby stepped in and saw them off. Not with any kind of fight, he probably flashed some money or daddy's power to get it done but, either way, he saved Colum's life". 

"Good Samaritan?", Lilly asked and Barrett chuckled. 

"More like he liked being owed favours. We had all seen Colum helping his father out, knew he was built of much tougher stuff than most of us", Barrett explained, "Toby wasn't popular. Got beat up a lot. So he got a bodyguard, then once he'd got Colum involved in some of his less savoury endeavours, Colum felt like he couldn't back out. At least until the business with the way Toby was treating women came out". 

"Rough?", Lilly asked. 

Barrett nodded and spun his pen absent-mindedly on the desk as he spoke, "Toby was, and from what I hear still is, a nasty, spoiled human being. When he didn't get what he wanted, he lashed out. With other men that was setting someone who owed him a favour on them. With women he preferred to get his own hands dirty".

"And this fight was the first time Colum heard about it?", Lilly asked.

"I guess so, but even after Colum was kicked out he hung around with Toby for a while. Wasn't until the rumours in college started that Colum cut ties", Barrett held up a hand and a moment later, the door to his office opened and a woman poked her head around.

"The meeting starts in five minutes, do we need to push it back?", the woman asked.

Barrett looked over at Lilly. 

"Just one last thing", Lilly stood up, "these rumours from college, don't suppose you've got a name or two we can get in contact with about them?" 

-

"We need to speak to Toby Merrywings again", Lilly leant into Stillman's office, "Got some interesting background from an old classmate and a woman who went to college with Merrywings confirmed that he hit her when she turned him down for a second date. Probably more women out there". 

"Not happening, Merrywings Senior heard about the face to face and wasn't all too pleased with Junior speaking to the police without a lawyer. We want to talk to Toby again, we go through their lawyers or arrest him", Stillman explained. 

"Dammit", Lilly dropped her pen onto the desk and looked over the notes so far. 

"Get me something we can use and I'll help you bring him in myself", Stillman rapped his knuckles twice on the table and left them to it. 

"Let's get Peter and Helen back in", Lilly said carefully, still forming the idea in her head, "I think we need to prod the Merrywings and Mannings connect a bit more". 


	9. Chapter 9

_Present Day_

"So it really was him?", Helen asked as she sat down on the opposite side of the table to Kat and Lilly. Peter sat in the chair beside her. They were sat around the table in the kitchen, the interrogation rooms seemed inappropriate for a group discussion.

"We don't know that for certain", Lilly didn't want them running off course and making assumptions, "but it's looking more likely that he was involved somehow. Even if he didn't kill Colum himself".

"I'm sorry, Helen, I could have stopped this", Peter spoke as though he'd been holding onto that apology for years.

Helen and Peter must have spoken about Peter's order to shut Colum up prior to Lilly and Kat arriving. It would certainly explain the stiff body language between the two. Before they could get side-tracked, Kat intervened.

"Well, that's why we've called you both in. You can help now Peter", Kat explained, "Back in the day, did you have much to do with a detective by the name of Reginald Mannings?"

Peter furrowed his brow and concentrated in silence. Helen bore a similar expression and then clicked her fingers and gestured towards Peter,

"Remember that homicide just after I started on the job, Walker put us on perimeter duty. We were stood there for about four hours in the end", Helen prompted and Peter's eyes lit up as the memory trickled back.

"Right, right", he ran his hand over his face as he thought, "Mannings. That was the detective who came in on that case. Spoke to me like dirt, wouldn't even acknowledge you".

"Sound like him", Kat agreed, raising an eyebrow as she glanced over at Lilly, "We think he might have something to do with Toby Merrywings or his family at least".

Lilly put some photographs out on the table - Toby, his father, Reginald Mannings - and Peter scrutinised them and then tapped the photo of Toby's father.

"I've seen him before. After I heard him reaming out Walker one day"

_November 19th 1976_

_Bad Company - Young Blood_

Peter adjusted his shirt and retucked it into his trousers, then gave himself one last look in the mirror and headed back out into the station. He knew damn well that he hadn't looked untidy but when Lieutenant Walker told you that you were a disgrace to his station and needed to tidy yourself up, you tidied yourself up.

"I was given assurances that supporting your career trajectory would be in my interests", the snarl behind the voice was so vitriolic that Peter couldn't help but stop at the door to the changing room.

"And if your-", that was Lieutenant Walker and whatever he was about to say was cut off by the first speaker.

"I don't care about your excuses. I was told you could fix messes such as these, so fix them. Be a shame for such a rising star to peak so soon", and the sound of footsteps walking away signalled the end of the conversation. Still, Peter wasn't all too keen to walk out into his Lieutenant in a foul mood so he waited until he heard a second set of footsteps heading away from the changing room.

Peter hurried through the corridor and down to the main bullpen, Helen was nowhere to be seen so she was probably outside waiting on him. Peter checked his watch as he headed to the front doors, it had taken longer than he had expected. He pushed the door to the station open and rushed out, only just moving to the side at the last moment to avoid bumping into a tall man in a long, black jacket lighting up a cigarette.

"Sorry", Peter apologised immediately and held up his hand to emphasise the gesture.

"Near miss", the man spoke and Peter suppressed a shiver as he realised it was the man he had heard arguing with Walker, "Which is good for you. Watch where you're going".

Peter forced himself to smile, apologised again and walked over to where Helen was waiting for him just outside the car park.

"Everything okay?", Helen asked.

"Yeah, sure, just not looking where I was going. Come on, let's head off"

_Present Day_

"I never knew who it was", Peter said, "Just figured he was some big-shot who kept police in his pocket, it wasn't uncommon back then, much as the force might try to pretend otherwise".

Lilly shared a quick look with Kat, seeing the same thought in her eyes, _'It's not uncommon now, either'_

"Any idea what mess he wanted Walker to sort out?", Lilly asked.

Peter slowly shook his head, "No. Walker had already sent me to chase off Colum by then".

"When did they close the assault case?", Kat checked her notes and the timeline.

"Uh...let's see. The day after Colum spoke to me, I pushed it up the chain", Helen tapped her fingers as she tried to remember the timeline, "and then all of a sudden they had this homeless man and the case was pinned on him... I can't say for sure but I think the 4th or 5th maybe?"

"Did Colum speak to you again after the case was closed?", Lilly asked.

Helen sighed and nodded, "He tried. A week or so before he died. He'd heard about the arrest and just wanted to talk to me about how it was the wrong guy. He caught me at a bad time and I... I brushed him off. I'd been hauled into Walker's office for a dressing down about my performance and I should have listened to Colum but I didn't".

It made sense now why Helen had carried the guilt over Colum's death around with her for so long and Lilly could empathise. Sometimes, even if you knew deep down it wasn't your fault, you couldn't shake the deep ache of blame.

"Looking back, were there any officers that could have been enforcers for Walker or Mannings?", Kat asked, "Could have been the one who did the dirty work?"

Peter and Helen sat in silence for a while, each turning their memories over and examining them. Lilly and Kat had already discussed whether they were going down the wrong track with that line of thinking. It wasn't that corrupt cops who carried out the dirty work of others were a rarity; unfortunately, they both knew it was more common than the stories which made it into the newspapers. How many times had they seen an old-timer look Stillman in the eyes and say, 'You know how it was back then, John'.There was a world of difference between dirty enforcement and cold-blooded murder though.

"There was one...", Peter spoke hesitantly, as though the words were slipping away from him and he was trying to keep hold of them to line up his thoughts, "I think he was called Thomas... No, Thompson. Something Thompson. Graduated three years before us, I think. I remember a few years into the job, there was word that he might be investigated for allegations of assaulting suspects. Then all of a sudden, there was no more talk of it. One night at our local, an officer from another precinct made a comment about him being protected from on high".

Kat wrote down the details while Lilly thanked them both for coming in then walked them to the elevators.

"Makes you wonder what cases we'll carry with us in thirty years time, right?", Kat asked as Lilly returned to her desk.

"I try not to think too much about it", Lilly said, the lie was painfully obvious but Kat let it go.

"Let's go digging for this Thompson, see if we can find our way to the bottom of this", Kat said instead.


	10. Chapter 10

_Present Day_

Kat's voice was a welcome sound after two hours buried in paperwork. Kat had chased down the Thompson that Peter had thought of while Lilly looked for something that might have triggered Merrywings Senior's visit to the police department to throw around threats.

"Found our man Thompson, retired ahead of schedule and settled down in Chesterbrook", Kat perched on the edge of Lilly's desk and put a piece of paper in front of her.

Lilly read the paper and her eyes widened, "That's some house on a police salary, what rank did he get to?"

"Never rose above detective", Kat replied, "No wealthy relatives, no lottery wins, nothing to explain where all this extra money came from"

"Which means we can't prove Benjamin Thompson was paid to do dirty work and no judge will ever grant a warrant for his financials but there's enough there to dig a bit deeper", Lilly reread the sheet and nodded, "Help me finish getting through this stack?"

Kat agreed and returned to her own chair with a pile of reports from the weeks around the argument Peter overheard and those before Colum's death. Jeffries interrupted them ten minutes in with two cups of coffee from the new coffee shop on the corner that the detectives found an excuse to visit at least once a day. Anyone who drank the coffee in the kitchen would agree that it was an excuse well worth making.

As Jeffries chatted to Kat about the case he, Valens and Vera were working on, and about the rumours making their way around about why the team had been split up, Lilly opened another file and read it as she sipped her coffee. Halfway through the report, detailing the vicious assault and murder of a woman called Amy Carmicheal on the 24th November, she got the feeling she was onto something. Some of the details bore similarities to the attacks on the other women but the police at the time hadn't looked too hard; Lilly imagined they saw the multiple arrests for prostitution on Amy's record and let the case drop down the priority list.

"I think...", she started cautiously, then smiled apologetically at interrupting Kat and Will, "Sorry".

"You think you've found something?", Kat asked, holding her hand out and Lilly passed the file over. Will read over Kat's shoulder.

"You could be right", Kat nodded as she read while Will frowned and took a photograph from the file and examined it.

Will nodded to himself as a memory came back, "I remember her. She used to work the same few corners around the city, including one on my beat. She and her friend just vanished all of a sudden but when I asked around, no-one seemed to know where they had gone. Or at least no-one said anything about what had happened".

"Friend?", Lilly asked.

"Always worked in a pair", Will said, tapping the photograph in the palm of his hand gently, "Can't remember her name but they were always together, said it helped keep them safe. Damn shame that turned out not to be true", Will looked at the photograph again and sighed, "I'm sure they would have been arrested together".

Kat was already pulling up Amy's file on the database, "There's another woman here, she was arrested the same time as Amy three times, Beth Waters".

"Anything there on where she might be?", Lilly asked.

"No", Kat scrolled down the page, "No death certificate but nothing else either. Nothing since seventy-six, in fact. Her prints are on file so even if she was found as a Jane Doe..."

Lilly sighed and leant back in her chair to think. Even if she had died as a Jane Doe, the prints from her arrest would have eventually led to her being identified. Even if it weren't in 1976. Which meant that either she was still out there somewhere alive and living a new life or her body hadn't been found.

"Think there's anyone who worked the same corners as Amy and Beth still around for us to talk to?", Lilly asked eventually, "Someone who might know where Beth could have gone?"

"I know a few old-timers you could talk to", Will said.

"Fancy coming along and facilitating those chats?", Kat asked and Will chuckled.

"I'll get my coat.

-

"Wouldn't be talking to you at all if you weren't with Jeffries here", Christina sat on the other side of the table said, looking around as though she still expected trouble to jump out at any moment.

"We appreciate it", Lilly said and deferred to Will for the next questions.

"You remember two women who sometimes worked the same corners as you back in the seventies?", Will asked, pushing the photographs of Amy and Beth over the table. Christina took them up and examined them while she sipped on her coffee.

"Sure, always together", Christina nodded, "Least until she died", Christina tapped the photograph of Amy.

"Any idea where Beth might have gone?", Will asked.

"Sure do", Christina snorted and gave them all a withering look that surprised Lilly, "Ain't it in your records? Was your boys that did it".

"Did what?", Kat asked.

"Drove her out of town", Christina said, "She got word that there were cops flooding the corners she worked on, offering incentives to anyone who'd talk to them about where she was. So she ran, you blame her? She probably changed her name shortly after"

"Police officers were searching for Beth Waters, you're sure?", Lilly asked.

"Didn't I just say so. They tried to get information out of me but I just kept my mouth shut and let them throw me in lock-up for the night instead", Christina handed the photographs back to Will, "Protecting one of their own was the word on the street, usually what brings them down on us like that".

Will thanked Christina for her time and left the money for her coffee and food as they all stood to say goodbye. They were nearly at the door when Lilly paused, made her decision and turned around.

"Can you look at one more photograph? Tell me if you recognise him?", Lilly asked.

Christina held out her hand and Lilly handed her the photograph of Toby Merrywings. Christina looked at the photo, then up at Lilly.

"Just so you know, I won't go into a courtroom", Christina said.

Lilly nodded, "I don't need you to. I just need to know if I'm going the right way".

"He was a regular. Didn't have one particular girl he liked but he showed up often enough that we knew his face and his fancy-ass clothes", Christina took a sip of her coffee, "Drove an expensive car too, right down into the rough part of town. I don't know if he was stupid or reckless or both but that's how we all knew him, someone like that tends to stand out".

"Thanks", Lilly accepted the photograph back and rejoined Kat and Will outside.

"Merrywings was a regular john. Turned up in his expensive car and expensive suits, made quite the impression", Lilly added as they walked back to Lilly's car.

"Someone stands out like that, there's usually only one reason they don't end up in the official files", Will drew his lips together in a grim line.

"This was after Merrywings Senior was at the station making threats", Kat said, "But just before Colum was killed".

"I think if we check the database for the days just before the 19th, we're going to find what triggered that visit", Lilly said.

-

"This could be it", Kat called Lilly around to look at the screen and pointed to the reported rape and assault of a young woman, Zofia Dabrowski, on the 17th November 1976, "Investigation didn't even get started, they just pegged her as a bitter sex worker who was trying to get back at a john. What's the betting that the description she gave, which is missing completely from the write-up by the way, matched Toby Merrywings?"

"She still in Philly?", Lilly asked.

"Died in '82", Kat said, pulling up the death certificate.

Lilly pulled a spare chair over and sat down while she thought outloud, "So we know Colum was lurking around at the scene of two assaults before he spoke to Roper".

"Maybe he suspected Merrywings was the doer?", Kat offered.

"I think he damn well knew he was", Lilly tapped her forefingers against her lips in a steepled position, "He grew a conscience eventually, tried to the right thing, but the assaults were lumped in with these other attacks at the time. No doubt courtesy of Walker or Mannings or whoever else was being paid off at the time. Then Zofia is assaulted and rape on the 17th and Merrywings Senior is in the station demanding something be taken care of two days later. Zofia's case was buried. Then Amy Carmicheal is killed on the 24th and within days, Beth Water is being chased down by the police".

"And Colum is murdered", Kat finished, "Then Toby Merrywings gets shipped off to a rehabilitation centre for anger management. Seems like someone took control of the situation and tidied up loose ends".

"So maybe...", Lilly looked around and then thought better of it, "Let me grab the boss, we'll go get some coffee".

Stillman joined them without question and they made small talk on their way down, not turning their attention back to the case until they were a short distance away from the department.

"Sorry, been getting paranoid recently with this case", Lilly explained as they walked.

"Might be inclined to say you've got good reason to be", Stillman looked off into the distance ahead as he spoke, "I've been getting some unexpected visits and phone calls since we started poking around at this".

"I don't think Toby Merrywings killed Colum", Lilly started to lay out her theory, "But I do think he assaulted and raped multiple women and that he murdered Amy Carmicheal".

"You think Andrew Merrywings pulled strings and someone else cleaned up Toby's mess?", Kat looked around as she asked.

"It sounds like Toby was escalating and that Colum wasn't willing to cover up for him anymore. If he had approached Roper about the assaults, what was he going to do and say when he learnt about the murder?", Lilly stopped walking so they were a short distance from the coffee shop.

"That's a big accusation", Stillman lowered his voice, "Andrew Merrywings is powerful enough, but to suggest that someone on the force... You're going to need an airtight case".

"I know, and anyone who could tie Toby to any of this is either dead or won't talk, and we've only got Roper and Wakeford to speak to the corruption with no actual proof", Lilly sighed.

"So you need a confession", Stillman said and when Kat and Lilly laughed bitterly, "I know, easier said than done but you've gotten more out of less. I've got an idea..."


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is one section in this chapter focused on one of the perpetrators. 
> 
> While there are no explicit details, anyone who wishes to skip this section should stop reading at the italics for '26th November 1976. Stargazer - Rainbow' and restart at 'Present Day. Hello Old Friend - Eric Clapton'

_Present Day_

"You just want us to sit here?", Helen asked for the third time, no doubt itching to get up and do something useful. Peter gently touched her forearm and nodded his head.

"Time to let the new generation set things right", he said, then offered a nod to Kat.

"We just need everything set up to make it more likely someone will talk", Kat explained, nodding towards the conspicuously placed whiteboard with various key details pinned up. With that, she headed back across the room to Stillman and Lilly.

"The others all set?", she asked, glancing over at Will and the others.

"All set", Stillman confirmed and he checked his watch just as someone hailed his attention from the doorway. They looked over to where Toby and Andrew Merrywings were stood with their lawyer.

"Showtime", Stillman said grimly.

Stillman greeted them and ushered Andrew away to his office while Lilly and Kat directed Toby and his lawyer towards one of the interview rooms. As they were walking, someone called Vera's name from the doorway and human instinct meant Toby looked around as well. Just in time to see Benjamin Thompson arrive with his lawyer. Lilly nudged Kat gently, Toby's face had paled and he quickly turned back around to face the front.

"Thanks, I've got him", Vera strolled over, being deliberately louder than usual, "Heard whether Walker's arrived yet?"

"Richard Walker?", Toby's voice rose a pitch. Lilly and Kat ignored him and directed Toby into the interview room.

Meanwhile, Vera led Thompson over to the second interview room, not missing the way Thompson kept glancing over to the office where Andrew sat with Stillman. 

Finally, Walker arrived. As he stood waiting for Will and Scotty to approach him he looked from where Andrew sat in the office with Stillman to the table where Peter and Helen were talking intently. His expression grew dark, especially when he heard Andrew laugh. Stillman still knew how to set the tone of any meeting.

"Richard Walker?", Will greeted, keeping any hint of expression off of his face, "Can you come with us, just a few questions about a cold case..."

In interview room one, Lilly and Kat were beginning to wonder if Toby was just going to melt into a puddle right in front of them. Sweat was building up on his brow and he kept tugging at his collar even though he had the top button undone already.

"Thank you for coming in again, we just wanted to talk a little bit more about Colum Byrne", Lilly said, "See, we've discovered that you weren't entirely honest with us earlier Toby"

"Detective...", the lawyer intervened immediately, "Must we start with such hostility? My client has come down here voluntarily".

Lilly smiled at the lawyer but there was no warmth there, "We don't like being lied to. Now, we learnt that you did know Colum. Helped him out of a difficult situation. Why wouldn't you want us to know about that?"

Toby seemed to calm a little at that and glanced at his lawyer who saw no reason for him not to continue and inclined his head slowly and carefully.

"Sure, some students from another school were bothering him and I helped see them off. I didn't...", a quick glance at his lawyer, "Colum wasn't from my world, you see, and I thought he might have been caught up with something untoward. That's why I wasn't forthcoming earlier", the lawyer cleared his throat and Toby stopped talking.

"After that, Colum and you hung around a bit?", Kat asked, distracting Toby's focus on Lilly.

"Maybe once or twice we saw each other around, I suppose, he didn't have many friends so...", Toby trailed off and offered what was probably meant to be a jovial smile but it came out more like a grimace.

"We also talked to a few of your old school friends", Kat continued, "Do you remember Barrett Hawthorne?"

Toby glanced at his lawyer again but clearly the lawyer hadn't been told about the alleged incident in school because again he didn't protest.

"I think so, father's a lawyer?", Toby coached his response but from the way he swallowed heavily after he spoke, it was obvious he was already working out what direction they were headed.

So Lilly switched tracks, "We heard he and Colum exchanged blows at one point?"

"I don't know", that was an obvious lie, even if they hadn't already found Barrett credible, "I think I heard something about it but, you know, hearsay being what it is".

"Right", Lilly pulled out the photographs of Toby's assault victims, plus a photograph of Amy, "Now the other strand we've found is that Colum seemed to know something about attacks on these women", she fanned out the photographs.

Toby didn't react straight away. After all this time and with all the women he had hurt over the years, perhaps he couldn't remember their faces. Then his eyes fell on Amy's photograph and he paled. The lawyer obviously knew something too because he stiffened and looked at Toby but didn't move to speak to him. Lilly watched the silent interaction, perhaps they hoped that the detectives hadn't put it all together and wanted to avoid giving more away.

"So we just wanted to talk a little about-", and right on cue, there was a rap on the door, "Excuse me".

Lilly got up and went over to the door, where Will stood on the other side.

"Walker is wound up tight", Will whispered, "He's all over the place in there, Vera says Thompson is just 'no commenting' everything, even the questions that don't incriminate him".

"Good at following orders", Lilly murmured, "I think the lawyers going to keep Toby from landing himself in anything serious. Stillman said he thought Walker had the most to lose".

Lilly returned to the table and offered a small smile and an apology for the interruption; she almost felt bad for the way Toby looked at her, hoping that she would offer some explanation or information on what was going on outside of the interview room.

"Where were we...", Kat restarted the interview.

Will re-entered the interview room and nodded subtly to Scotty before retaking his seat, "Sorry about that".

"We were just getting onto whether Walker knew Colum Byrne", Scotty said.

"You already know I do", Walker twisted in his seat then straightened up, "You've got Wakeford out there, so just get to your question".

"Alright", Will took over, "You sent your officer up to chase off Colum".

"Now that's not what happened", Walker protested immediately despite his lawyer's efforts to quieten him.

"Only 'cos Wakeford has a conscience and wouldn't go through with it", Scotty said.

Walker settled back in his chair and rubbed his palm over his chin. There was a few days of stubble there and that, combined with the dark circles under Walker's eyes, made Scotty and Will wonder if the incident had been playing on his mind since it was first reopened.

"So why were you sending a man up to chase off Colum?", Will asked.

The lawyer immediately put his hand on Walker's arm to stop him answering, Walker shook him off just as quickly, "Get out".

"Excuse me?", the lawyer looked as though Walker had slapped him.

"You heard me, get out", Walker repeatedly slowly, "I know how this goes so get out, you're fired".

The lawyer protested again but Walker turned away from him until the man gave up, gathered up his files and left the interview room.

"We to understand that you're continuing the interview without counsel?", Will asked.

"Yeah", Walker stared off into the distance for a moment and then faced forward again, "You ain't got us all in here just for a fishing expedition, I'm not stupid. Maybe you don't have enough today but you'll get what you need soon enough. Rather be on the bus than under it, what's the offer?"

Will repeated what they'd been told by Curtis Bell, that if Walker was the one to fold they could see he served out his shortened sentence in a low-security prison and away from the dangers a former police officer faced in the general prison population. Lilly had protested, feeling that since Walker had almost certainly given the order for Thompson to kill Colum, that he was getting a bitterly light deal in comparison. Bell had countered by pointing out that Walker had no power - unlike the Merrywings - and hadn't committed murder - unlike Thompson - and that made him the most tolerable one to flip. Lilly had reluctantly agreed after a quiet word from Stillman that the others weren't privy to.

"You got that in writing?", Walker slumped into his chair and held out his hand. Will pushed the written terms across the table and Walker read them.

"Alright", Walker pushed it back across to them, "Knew I'd always regret the day I met the fucking Merrywings..."

_26th November 1976_

_Stargazer - Rainbow  
_

Walker pulled his collar up against the chill of the wind and ducked down through the alleyway to where Officer Benjamin Thompson would be waiting for him. Walker almost hoped he wouldn't be there so he wouldn't have to pass on the order but then he heard Andrew Merrywing's voice snarling in his ear, threatening to rip everything out from under him and Walker clenched his jaw and strengthened his resolve. He'd be damned if Andrew fucking Merrywings was going to be his downfall.

Reliable as always, Thompson stood at the end of the alleyway. He even stood up straight when Walker approached.

"That little bastard has really fucked up this time", Walker didn't bother to hide his feelings beneath softer language.

"Lieutenant?", Thompson asked and Walker allowed himself a bitter smile. Thompson hadn't been involved in making the rape charge disappear so he didn't know it hadn't even been two weeks since the last mess Walker had cleaned up from Toby Merrywings. Walker wondered for a moment whether he'd be better off sending someone to deal with Toby, then immediately dismissed that meandering thought as it evolved into a terrifying notion of what exactly Andrew would do to exact his revenge.

"Merrywings. Junior", Walker clarified, "Killed a woman".

"Jesus Christ", and Walker was almost relieved to see the emotion in Thompson.

"And his father wants us to make it go away", Walker explained, "He's going to take care of his son, about fucking time you ask me, but we've got to shut someone up".

"Right", and Thompson lifted his chin in acknowledgement, "Name?"

"Colum Byrne. Knows too much about junior and needs to go", Walker looked up as a cold drizzle of rain started, "Senior is being more generous than usual given the...pressing nature of getting this tidied away".

"Alright", and Thompson held out his hand, just like that, for the details as though it were a business transaction. Walker knew it was how Thompson would respond, it was why he was used for this sort of work, but it still chilled him to hear it for himself. He handed Thompson the note and turned away.

"You're not overseeing?", Thompson asked before Walker could start walking, "I'm going to need a ride".

That was when Walker knew he had been wrong-footed by someone somewhere along the line, though he'd be damned if he knew where. He turned back around and found Thompson staring dispassionately at him, no hope of answers there. Once Walker got in that car and drove Thompson to wherever Colum was, he couldn't keep his distance anymore.

"Right", Walker said and he led Thompson back to his car.

"That him?", Thompson asked as Colum stepped out of one of the bars and started walking down the road. Walker nodded silently and Thompson got out of the car. Walker watched as Thompson closed the distance to Colum, the rain no doubt obscuring the sound of Thompson's heavy footsteps. Colum didn't even seem to realise that he was in any kind of danger.

Five metres. Four. Three. Two. Walker willed Colum to glance over his shoulder, to see the threat bearing down on him and just run. Then Thompson's fist connected with the side of Colum's head and sent him stumbling to one side. Thompson grabbed Colum by the shoulders and a second later they were both out of sight, inside the parking lot for the nearby apartments. The rain got heavier and Walker turned the engine on so he could use the windscreen wipers. According to his watch, it was less than two minutes before Thompson emerged from the parking lot and crossed the street to the car, but it sure felt like a lot longer.

Thompson opened the passenger side door and clambered in, "You know where I live?"

Walker nodded silently and pulled out onto the road.

_Present Day_

_Hello Old Friend - Eric Clapton_

Will finished writing down Walker's recount while Scotty stood up and pulled Walker to his feet. As he led the man out of the interview room and across the room, he nodded to Stillman and opened the doors to the other interview rooms and let them know. Toby looked as though he might collapse as Lilly read him his rights and placed him under arrest. Benjamin Thompson just stared back at Vera, then once Vera pulled him to his feet straight ahead, as though nothing had been said. Stillman had to call one of the other detectives in to help him as Andrew tried to just walk out of Homicide.

Lilly glanced over at Peter and Helen, who had both stood up as the parade of arrests took place, and for a split second saw the younger officers they had once been standing in their place. Relieved to have finally righted a long-standing wrong.

"I'll be damned", Peter whispered to Helen as they watched the four men be taken out of the squad room, "They actually did it".

Helen opened her mouth to reply and then frowned as she saw a familiar figure across the other side of the room. Her reply fell away to silent shock as she swore she saw the spitting image of Colum sat on one of the tabletops, smiling sadly as the men involved in his murder were finally taken away. As soon as she saw it, she blinked and the image was gone, and she was left with Peter watching her expectantly for an answer to his comment.

"Never had any doubts", Helen forced out, the choke in her voice giving away her real emotions and she accepted the hug from Peter.

With the four men in cells, three keeping silent and one - Andrew - screaming that he would see every single one of them off of the force for good, the team headed back up to the squad room. Stillman patted Lilly and Kat on the shoulder in turn and gave them a nod as he walked on ahead.

Lilly and Kat shared a look, both glad to see the troubled emotions reflected on the others' face. It was a wrong righted, that was for sure, but what it meant in the grand scheme of things was more troubling. Four corrupt people - two of them police - taken off the streets was barely a ripple and both detectives knew it. Reginald Mannings was still out there, involved somehow - they were both certain - but untouched by this. Walker hadn't even hinted at his involvement and Lilly couldn't fathom why when she was so sure he had been involved.

Even as those dark thoughts weighed her down, Lilly forced herself to smile when she stepped off the elevator and saw Helen and Peter waiting. It was still a wrong righted and for them, it meant closure after thirty-five years. Lilly only wished someone could have given Colum's family closure before it was too late for them. Would it bring closure to Jacqueline? To Christina? To Theodore and all the other people touched by the corruption this case had uncovered? Lilly couldn't say but she hoped that it would. Even if just a little.

_End_

_Next Time on Cold Case_

Lilly and the team find themselves facing stoney silence over and over when they try to get to the bottom of a suicide in a boarding school in the late 60s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time :)


End file.
